Spinifex hopping-mouse (Notomys alexis)Brief description: A large bicoloured mouse with a long tufted tail and elongated legs adapted to hopping.Description: The Spinifex Hopping Mouse is large for a mouse and can weigh up to 45 grams. The upper parts are chestnut and the underbelly is very light, almost white. They have large pink ears and a very long tufted tail. A small throat pouch is present on adults. Size is measured as the head-body length.Biology: This species is nocturnal and lives in groups which construct deep burrow systems with several entrances. They shelter in these burrows during the day. They have a typical omnivorous diet, eating a wide range of plant material, fungi and invertebrates. Breeding can occur year round and a high survival rate in good seasons leads to a boom and bust type population. They can move very fast by hopping on their elongated hind feet.Habitat: Sandy hummock grasslands and mallee woodlands on loamy soils.Native status: Native to AustraliaDiet: OmnivoreColours: Brown, white, pinkDistribution: Central AustraliaConservation status in Victoria: Least Concerned

Smoky mouse (Pseudomys fumeus)Brief description: Dark nose, dark around eyes, dark grey fur.Description: Body fur soft, dense and dark grey, light grey underneath. Dark nose and dark ring around the eye. Tail long, pink with brown stripe along the top. Body up to 10 cm, tail up to 15 cm.Biology: Smoky Mice raise their tails up and down when threatened. They eat a variety of seeds, fungi, fruit and invertebrates. They shelter in communal burrows in the ground. Smoky mice were thought to be entirely restricted to Victoria until they were found in the Australian Capital Territory and New South Wales in 1986 and 1994, respectively.Habitat: Sclerophyll forest, heath, sub-alpine and coastal areas.Native status: Native to AustraliaDiet: OmnivoreColours: brown whiteDistribution: Isolated populations in south-eastern mainland Australia.Habitat types: TerrestrialConservation status in Victoria: Endangered

Rakali (Water-rat) (Hydromys chrysogaster)Brief description: White end on tail, swims in water. Description: Extremely dense fur, black to grey above and white to orange underneath. Tail thick and dark, white at the end. Wide, webbed hind feet. Broad face with large whiskers. Body up to 39 cm longBiology: Water Rats feed on a variety of primarily animal foods including fish, crustaceans, shellfish and some vertebrates. Most active at dusk, but can be active anytime of day. They have been protected since 1938; before then they were killed as a nuisance animal and hunted for their soft fur.Habitat: Fresh, salt and brackish wetlands.Native status: Native to Australia Diet: CarnivoreColours: brown black yellowDistribution: Widespread in permanent water bodies of Australia, New Guinea and offshore Islands.Habitat types: TerrestrialConservation status in Victoria: Least Concerned

(On the heels of a conversation with an elderly neighbour who has put rat poison down in her back garden, it feels somewhat disquieting to pop this rodent post up this evening. I am concerned for both the local colony of rats in our patch (one is never far from a rat; I'm well versed in Ratatouille, Brambly Hedge, Anatole et al.; I've 'riverbanked' with Ratty) and also for Misha and Tommy, the local ratters. At my neighbour's hands, a small nest of littles perished, and I can't shake my unrest. I shall try to channel it into the drawings I wish to finish off from the museum the other day. Coming soon your way: a zine dedicated to the rodent!)

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Traveller dear,

Louise Jennison and I make artists’ books, we make all sorts of things, and most usually we make things on paper. Collaboration comes naturally to us both; it is an enjoyable process that yields treasure not possible without the other. Working side-by-side, as we do from our home-based studio in Melbourne, Australia, it is a pattern we are familiar with, a path we are delighted to tread, seeing what new scenario evolves. Collaboration throws up the unexpected, and what is not to like about that?

When not with scissors in hand, I can be found writing about ballet and contemporary dance for Fjord Review, and (upon occasion) painting and collage for RMIT.

With paper sufficient to cover the moon and sincerely yours, Gracia Haby
(High Up in the Trees since 2006)